U.s., Latins Form `Anti-drug Cartel`

CARTAGENA, Colombia -- President Bush and three South American presidents concluded a historic summit meeting on Thursday by signing an agreement designed to cripple the cocaine cartels.

Bush said after the meeting that he and the leaders of Colombia, Peru and Bolivia had created the first anti-drug cartel with a series of agreements signed during their one-day gathering.

``We depart having forged an unprecedented alliance against the drug trade,`` Bush said in Barranquilla after a helicopter flight from the summit at Cartagena. Then, Bush left for Washington.

The summit came six months after the Colombian government launched its toughest crackdown against the cocaine cartels. Tens of millions of dollars of property has been seized and the cartel leaders are characterized as desperate to make a deal.

The ``Declaration of Cartagena`` signed at a heavily guarded military base is designed to end the drug plague by reducing consumption in the United States, developing economic alternatives for drug-dependent economies and coordinating an all-out attack on the traffickers` organizations.

The agreement signed by Bush commits the United States to helping the Latin American countries rebuild. He promised to seek new financing from Congress for this aid.

Bush officially recognized the economic reality that a successful war on the cocaine trade will have harmful effects on the economies and employment levels of Bolivia, Peru and Colombia.

``The United States is prepared to cooperate with the Andean parties in a wide range of initiatives for development, trade and investment,`` the declaration said. No dollar figure was named.

The presidents emphasized crop substitution as a way to make the cultivation of coca leaves less popular in the Andean countries. Bush pledged to help with development of legitimate crops and to provide seed money and credits in rural areas.

The four countries also agreed to:

--Increase trade and private investment so drug-free economies can grow.

--Strengthen controls against the chemicals used to process cocaine and beef up the interdiction of the chemicals.

The leaders were protected by more than 5,000 Colombian troops guarding against attacks by the cartels or the leftist guerrillas who seek to topple the government. Airspace and waterways were shut down during the sessions.

Guerrillas belonging to the National Liberation Army signaled their defiance of the United States by declaring U.S. interests in Colombia to be military targets. Their communique declared: ``Death to the gringos.``

Police and the U.S. Embassy in Bogota said they presumed the guerrillas were responsible for the kidnapping on Thursday of Francisco Amico Ferrari, head of a Canadian-sponsored Catholic community in the southwestern city of Cali, home base of one of the cocaine cartels.

Security concerns in Cartagena were so high that the first question asked of Bush in Colombia was, ``Are you scared?`` The president said no.

The leaders downplayed prior disagreements over drug policies. They hailed the summit as beginning a new era of mutual respect between Latin America and the United States.

Bush had angered Latin Americans with the invasion of Panama and was further hurt by news leaks suggesting a possible U.S. naval blockade of Colombia, but he seemed to win friends with his willingness to travel to Cartagena and sit down with his Latin colleagues.

International cooperation was the theme stressed most often. Host Virgilio Barco, the president of Colombia, said the traffickers could not be beaten if each country worked on its own.

``They are intent on destroying our democracies and enslaving our people,`` he said of the cocaine billionaires. ``This is a global problem, and all measures pale compared to cutting demand. The only law the traffickers don`t break is the law of supply and demand.``

Peruvian President Alan Garcia had said he would stay away from the summit to protest the U.S. invasion of Panama. But he changed his mind several weeks ago and pointed out upon his arrival that Bush had removed the invasion force.

``I did come because two days ago the last illegal troops placed in Panama were taken away,`` he said. Despite his hostile characterization of the United States as ``an invading country,`` Garcia shared jokes with Bush and praised the summit.

``I believe that this is important because it opens a new chapter between Latin America and the United States,`` he said. ``I think that the most transcendental element is that for the first time, we are sitting down with the president of the United States. I think there are many things we can solve together.``

Garcia said he hoped this process would set a precedent for discussions of issues such as the international debt crisis.